Authors: James Fenimore Cooper
The men aloft made several attempts to hail the deck, but the wind
blew too heavily to suffer them to be heard. Talcott had gone on the
yard himself, and I saw him gesticulating, in a way to indicate there
was something ahead. The seas were running so high that it was not
easy to obtain much of a look at the horizon; but, by getting into the
mizen-rigging, I had a glimpse of a vessel's spars, to the eastward of
us, and directly on our course. It was a ship under bare poles,
running as nearly before us as she could, but making most fearful
yaws; sometimes sheering away off to starboard, in a way to threaten
her with broaching-to; then taking a yaw to port, in which I could see
all three of her masts, with their yards pointed nearly at us. I got
but one glimpse of her hull, as it rose on a sea, at the same instant
with the Dawn, and it actually appeared as if about to be blown away,
though I took the stranger to be a vessel at least as large as we were
ourselves. We were evidently approaching her fast, though both vessels
were going the same way.
The Dawn steered beautifully, one of the greatest virtues in a ship,
under the circumstances in which we were then placed. A single man was
all that we had at the wheel, and he controlled it with ease. I could
see it was very different with the ship ahead, and fancied they had
made a mistake on board her, by taking in all their canvass. Talcott
and the gang aloft, had not got out of the top, however, before we had
a hint that it would be well to imitate the stranger's prudence.
Though our vessel steered so much better than another, no ship can
keep on a direct line, while running before the wind, in a heavy
sea. The waves occasionally fly past a vessel, like the scud glancing
through the air; then, they seem to pause, altogether, as if to permit
the ship to overtake them. When a vessel is lifted aft by one of these
torrents of rushing waters, the helm loses a portion of its power; and
the part of the vast machine that first receives the impulse, seems
intent on exchanging places with the bows, vessels often driving
sideways before the surges, for spaces of time that are exceedingly
embarrassing to the mariner. This happens to the best-steering ships,
and is always one source of danger in very heavy weather, to those
that are running off. The merit of the Dawn was in coming under
command again, quickly, and in not losing so much of the influence of
her helm, as is frequently the case with wild-steering craft. I
understand there is a sloop-of-war now in the navy, that is difficult
to get through a narrow passage, in a blow, in consequence of her
having this propensity to turn her head first one way, then another,
like a gay horse that breaks his bridle.
The hint given, just as Talcott was quitting the top, and to which
there has been allusion, was given under the impulsion of one of these
driving seas. The Dawn still carried her fore-topmast stay-sail, a
small triangular piece of stout canvass, and which was particularly
useful, as leading from the end of the bowsprit towards the head of
the fore-top-mast, in preventing her from broaching-to, or pressing up
with her bows so near the wind, as to produce the danger of seas
breaking over the mass of the hull, and sweeping the decks. The
landsman will understand this is the gravest of the dangers that occur
at sea, in very heavy weather. When the ship is thrown broadside to
the sea, or comes up so as to bring the wind abeam, or even forward of
the beam, as in lying-to, there is always risk from this
source. Another clanger, which is called pooping, is of a character
that one who is ignorant of the might of the ocean when aroused, would
not be apt to foresee. It proceeds from the impetuous velocity of the
waves, which, rushing ahead so much faster than the vessel that is
even driving before the gale, breaks against the quarter, or stern,
and throws its masses of water along the deck, in a line with its
keel. I suppose the President steamer to have been lost by the first
of these two dangers, as will appear in the following little theory.
There is no doubt that well-constructed steamers are safer craft, the
danger from fire excepted, than the ordinary ship, except in very
heavy weather. With an ordinary gale, they can contend with sufficient
power; but, it is an unfortunate consequence of their construction,
that exactly as the danger increases, their power of meeting it
diminishes. In a very heavy swell, one cannot venture to resort to a
strong head of steam, since one wheel may be nearly out of water,
while the other is submerged, and thus endanger the machinery. Now,
the great length of these vessels renders it difficult to keep them up
to the wind, or head to sea, the safest of all positions for a vessel
in heavy weather, while it exposes them to the additional risk of
having the water break aboard them near the waist, in running dead
before it. In a word, I suppose a steamer difficult to be kept out of
the trough, in very heavy weather; and no vessel can be safe in the
trough of the seas, under such circumstances; one of great length less
so than others. This is true, however, only in reference to those
steamers which carry the old-fashioned wheel; Erricson's screw, and
Hunter's submerged wheels, rendering steam-ships, in my poor judgment,
the safest craft in the world.
The Dawn was overtaken by the seas, from time to time; and, then, like
everything else that floats, she yawed, or rather, had her stern urged
impetuously round, as if it were in a hurry to get ahead of the
bows. On these occasions, the noise made by the fore-top-mast
stay-sail, as it collapsed and filled, resembled the report of a small
gun. We had similar reports from the fore-sail, which, for moments at
a time, was actually becalmed, as the ship settled into the trough;
and then became distended with a noise like that of the shaking of a
thousand carpets, all filled with Sancho Panzas, at the same
instant. As yet, the cloth and gear had stood these violent shocks
admirably; but, just as Talcott was leading his party down, the ship
made one of her side-long movements; the stay-sail filled with a
tremendous report, and away it flew to leeward, taken out—of the
bolt-rope as if it had been cut by shears, and then used by the furies
of the tempest. Talcott smiled, as he gazed at the driving canvass,
which went a quarter of a mile before it struck the water, whirling
like a kite that has broken its string, and then he shook his head. I
disliked, too, the tremendous surges of the fore-sail, when it
occasionally collapsed and as suddenly filled, menacing to start every
bolt, and to part every rope connected with block or spar.
"We must get in that fore-course, Mr. Talcott," I said, "or we shall
lose something. I see the ship ahead is under bare-poles, and it were
better we were as snug. If I did not dislike losing such a wind, it
would be wiser to heave-to the ship; man the buntlines and
clew-garnets, at once, and wait for a favourable moment."
We had held on to our canvass too long; the fault of youth. As I had
determined to shorten sail, however, we now set about it in earnest,
and with all the precautions exacted by the circumstances. Everybody
that could be mustered, was placed at the clew-lines and buntlines,
with strict orders to do his best at the proper moments. The
first-mate went to the tack, and the second to the sheet. I was to
take in the sail myself. I waited for a collapse; and then, while the
ship was buried between two mounds of water, when it was impossible to
see a hundred yards from her in any direction, and the canvass was
actually dropping against the mast I gave the usual orders. Every man
hauled, as if for life, and we had got the clews pretty well up, when
the vessel came out of the cavern into the tempest, receiving the
whole power of the gale, with a sudden surge, into the bellying
canvass. Away went everything, as if the gear were cobwebs. At the
next instant, the sail was in ribands. I was deeply mortified, as well
as rendered uneasy, by this accident, as the ship ahead unquestionably
was in full view of all that happened.
It was soon apparent, however, that professional pride must give place
to concern for the safety of the vessel. The wind had been steadily
increasing in power, and had now reached a pass when it became
necessary to look things steadily in the face. The strips of canvass
that remained attached to the yard, with the blocks and gear attached,
threshed about in a way to threaten the lives of all that
approached. This was only at the intervals when the ship settled into
the troughs; for, while under the full influence of the gale, pennants
never streamed more directly from a mast, than did these heavy
fragments from the fore-yard. It was necessary to get rid of them;
and Talcott had just volunteered to go on the yard with this end, when
Neb sprang into the rigging without an order, and was soon beyond the
reach of the voice. This daring black had several narrow escapes, more
especially from the fore-sheet blocks; but he succeeded in cutting
everything adrift, and in leaving nothing attached to the spar, but
the bolt-rope of the head of the sail. It is true, little effected
this object, when the knife could be applied, the threads of the stout
canvass snapping at the touch.
As soon as the ship was under bare poles, though at the sacrifice of
two of her sails, I had leisure to look out for the other
vessel. There she was, more than half a mile ahead of us, yawing
wildly, and rolling her lower yard-arm, to the water's edge. As we
drew nearer, I got better glimpses of this vessel, which was a ship,
and as I fancied, an English West Indiaman, deep-loaded with the
produce of the islands. Deep-loaded as I fancied, for it was only at
instants that she could be seen at all, under circumstances to judge
of this fact; sometimes her hull appearing to be nearly smothered in
the brine, and then, again, her copper glistening in the sun,
resembling a light vessel, kept under the care of some thrifty
housewife.
The Dawn did not fly, now all her canvass was gone, as fast as she had
previously done. She went through the water at a greater rate than the
vessel ahead; but it required an hour longer to bring the two ships
within a cable's length of each other. Then, indeed, we got a near
view of the manner in which the elements can play with such a mass of
wood and iron as a ship, when in an angry mood. There were instants
when I fancied I could nearly see the keel of the stranger for half
its length, as he went foaming up on the crest of a wave, apparently
ready to quit the water altogether; then again, he would settle away
into the blue abyss, hiding everything beneath his tops. When both
vessels sunk together, no sign of our neighbour was visible, though so
near. We came up after one of these deep plunges into the valleys of
the ocean, and, to our alarm, saw the English ship yawing directly
athwart our course, and within fifty fathoms of us. This was about the
distance at which I intended to pass, little dreaming of finding the
other ship so completely in our way. The Englishman must have intended
to come a little nearer, and got one of those desperate sheers that so
often ran away with him. There he was, however; and a breathless
minute followed, when he was first seen. Two vehicles dashing along a
highway, with frightened and run-away teams, would not present a sight
one-half as terrific as that which lay directly before our eyes.
The Dawn was plunging onward with a momentum to dash in splinters, did
she strike any resisting object, and yawing herself sufficiently to
render the passage hazardous. But the stranger made the matter
ten-fold worse. When I first saw him, in this fearful proximity, his
broadside was nearly offered to the seas, and away he was flying, on
the summit of a mountain of foam, fairly crossing our fore-foot. At
the next moment, he fell off before the wind, again, and I could just
see his tops directly ahead. His sheer had been to-port, our intention
having been to pass him on his starboard side; but, perceiving him to
steer so wild, I thought it might be well to go in the other
direction. Quick as the words could be uttered, therefore, I called
out to port the helm. This was done, of course; and just as the Dawn
felt the new influence, the other vessel took the same sheer, and away
we both went to starboard, at precisely the same instant. I shouted to
right our helm to "hard a-starboard," and it was well I did; a minute
more would have brought us down headlong on the Englishman. Even now
we could only see his hull, at instants; but the awful proximity of
his spars denoted the full extent of the danger. Luckily, we hit on
opposite directions, or our common destruction would have been
certain. But, it was one thing, in that cauldron of a sea, to
determine on a course, and another to follow it. As we rose on the
last wave that alone separated us from the stranger, he was nearly
ahead; and as we glanced onward, I saw that we should barely clear his
larboard quarter. Our helm being already a starboard, no more could be
done. Should he take another sheer to port, we must infallibly cut him
in twain. As I have said, he had jammed his helm to-port, and slowly,
and with a species of reluctance, he inclined a little aside. Then we
came up, both ships rolling off, or our yards must have interlocked,
and passing his quarter with our bows, we each felt the sheer at the
same instant, and away we went asunder, the sterns of the ships
looking at each other, and certainly not a hundred feet apart. A shout
from Talcott drew me to our taffrail, and standing on that of our
neighbour, what or whom should I see waving his hat, but the red
countenance of honest Moses Marble!
"At the piping of all hands,
When the judgment signal's spread—
When the islands and the lands,
And the seas give up the dead,
And the south and the north shall come;
When the sinner is dismay'd,
And the just man is afraid,
Then heaven be thy aid,
Poor
Tom
.'"
BRAINARD.